Child Life Certification Practice Test

The correct term that refers to social institutions that indirectly influence a child's development is the exosystem. In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the exosystem consists of the broader social systems that the child does not interact with directly but still affect their life. This includes factors such as a parent's workplace, community services, and extended family networks. These systems have an indirect impact: for example, a parent's stressful job may affect their mood at home, which in turn influences the child's emotional well-being.

The macrosystem, on the other hand, encompasses the overarching cultural, economic, and social contexts that shape a society and thereby influence child development at a deeper level. Meanwhile, the mesosystem involves the relationships and interactions between different microsystems in a child's life, such as the connections between family and school environments. The microsystem represents the immediate environments that directly impact the child, such as home, school, and peer group. Each of these systems plays a role in development, but it's the exosystem that precisely captures the indirect influences from social institutions.